Replacing an Atwood Water Heater Element
The Short Answer: An Atwood (now Dometic) electric element is 120 V, typically ~1400 W, about 10 Ω with power dead — not a house-tank 4500 W / 12–13 Ω part. Cold showers on electric with gas still working is ECO, bypass, no shore power, or that sheath. Reset once on a full tank. If it trips again or the threads weep, stop and hire an RV tech.
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Search Intent & The Real Problem
You are on a pedestal. The interior electric switch is on. The tank is silent. Propane may still make a lukewarm shower, which is how people condemn “the heater.” Dual-fuel Atwood/Dometic 6- and 10-gallon boxes have two independent heat paths. Electric is a 120-volt screw-in element behind a thermostat/ECO at the exterior door. The usual killers: winterize (empty tank + switch on), bypass valves left in bypass, a popped ECO, or a park pedestal at 105 volts. This page is the element swap. Whole-box tree: Atwood troubleshooting. Electric diagnosis without a wrench yet: Atwood electric. Click-no-light on gas is not an element: Atwood clicking.
Suburban electric is a different thermostat and a different sheath — Suburban electric. Do not order that ECO or that element for an Atwood.
What other guides get wrong
They sell a 240-volt house element for a 10-gallon Atwood. That sheath will not thread right, and the wattage will eat a 30-amp pedestal. They tell you to reset the ECO with the bypass still on winterize, which dry-fires the new part. They ohm it to the house-tank 12–13 Ω number (that is 4500 W / 240 V). A healthy ~1400 W / 120 V Atwood is near 10 Ω. And they start on the DSI board because the interior switch looks dark.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
Step 1: Prove electric is the dead half, and the tank actually has water
| What works | Look at first |
|---|---|
| Gas OK, electric dead | 120 V, ECO, element — this page |
| Electric OK, gas dead | LP / DSI — put the element wrench down |
| Both dead | Empty tank, bypass, winterized, or no power and no LP |
- What to look for: Bypass valves (usually three, near the heater) in the normal heat path, not winterize. Open a hot faucet until it runs a solid stream, no sputter. Model sticker: GC6, G6A, G10, Dometic cousins — not a Suburban SW6DE.
- Required tools: Flashlight, the cabinet plumbing diagram.
No water in the tank is not an element. It is a dry-fire waiting to happen — powered empty.
Step 2: Kill 120 V, then ECO once
- What to look for: Other 120 V appliances alive. Bathroom GFCI popped. Pedestal breaker in the middle. Interior electric switch off. Exterior door: thermostat on the jacket, red or black reset on the back of that control. Power off, tank confirmed full, one firm press until it clicks.
- Required tools: Finger, cold tank, shore power locked off.
If it clicks off again in minutes, the element is grounded, the thermostat is welded, or you still have no water. Do not hold the button. That is the RV version of thermostat burn-up.
Step 3: Ohm the Atwood element — not the house-tank chart
| Reading (wires lifted, 120 V proven dead) | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ~10 Ω across the screws on a ~1400–1440 W / 120 V sheath | Electrically good (~12 A in service) |
| Infinite | Open — dry-fire or age |
| ~0 Ω across the screws | Internal short |
| Any continuity screw-to-tank | Ground. ECO and GFCIs hate this |
| 12–13 Ω on a part you bought at a house-tank aisle | Wrong wattage / voltage — do not install |
- What to look for: Match wattage on the rating plate, not an Amazon “universal RV” photo. Heat-crisped leads at the element mean the last dry-fire already cooked the harness.
- Required tools: Multimeter. If you do not own one, this is an RV-tech call, not a guess.
Step 4: Drain below the element, then the one honest wrench
- What to look for: Cold city/pump isolated as needed. Drain plug or anode path — Atwoods often drain slowly. Level below the element opening. Correct element socket on the hex, backup so you do not oval the aluminum tank spud. Counterclockwise to remove on a standard right-hand thread. New sheath and a new gasket. Do not reuse the crushed ring.
- Required tools: Element wrench, backup wrench, rags, pan. Not a house 240 V 4500 W element. Not a torch.
If the hex is already round or the spud turns with the element, stop. Aluminum Atwood tanks do not forgive gorilla extractors. Same physics as a seized house element — stuck element — except the vessel is thinner and you are standing in a wet bay.
Fill completely. Purge a hot faucet solid. Then restore 120 V. Empty plus 1400 W is still a toaster coil.
Step 5: Thermostat pair, pedestal, and leaks at the threads
- What to look for: Bead at the new hex = gasket or stripped aluminum threads into the cabinet — leave 120 V off. ECO that will not latch with a proven-good new sheath = thermostat/ECO, replace as a pair when the tank was dry-fired. Pedestal that sags to 105 V under load: the element brown-outs and the ECO nuisance-trips. ~1400 W is about 12 A; a tired 30-amp post will still starve it. Wiring melted back to a wirenut is not a second element.
- Required tools: Paper towel at the threads. Receptacle tester at a nearby outlet. Voltage at the element with the cover off is a tech step.
Gas still working after a failed electric swap does not mean the tank is fine forever. A weep into the burner box is an LP problem the next time you spark it.
When DIY Ends: Calling a Licensed Pro
You may kill shore power, prove the tank full, press one ECO, ohm the 120 V sheath, and swap a matching Atwood/Dometic element if the hex is intact. Stop at a rounded hex, a spinning spud, water in the cabinet, heat-discolored leads, a GFCI or pedestal that trips on the new part, and any LP flare. 120-volt work in a wet RV is not a YouTube element swap if the wiring is brittle. A mobile RV tech will load-test the pedestal, megger the sheath, and replace the ECO/thermostat as a pair after a dry-fire. That beats a coach fire from a fifth reset.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I replace an Atwood water heater element? A: Unplug shore power, confirm a full tank and bypass off, ohm the 120 V sheath (~10 Ω on ~1400 W), drain below the opening, swap the screw-in element and gasket, fill until a hot faucet runs solid, then restore 120 V. Do not install a 240-volt house element.
Q: Why did my new Atwood element still not heat? A: ECO still open, bypass still on, no 120 V at the coach, the thermostat is dead, the new sheath is open or grounded, or you energized it empty. Gas working only proves the tank can hold water.
Q: What size element does an Atwood RV water heater use? A: Read your plate. Most 6- and 10-gallon Atwood/Dometic electrics are about 1400 W at 120 V — near 10 Ω, about 12 A — not the residential 4500 W / 240 V / 12–13 Ω figure. Match the OEM wattage and thread.